Oracle (ORCL) founder Larry Ellison has surpassed Meta (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg to become the second-richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
Ellison’s net worth rose to $257 billion as of July 17, boosted by more than $60 billion in gains this year. Zuckerberg now trails with $247 billion. The shift came after a sharp surge in Oracle shares, with Ellison’s fortune increasing by over $40 billion in just three days in mid-June. Ellison, who founded Oracle in 1977 and led the company as CEO for 37 years, holds around 40% of the firm.
Earlier this week, Oracle revealed plans to invest $3 billion in AI and cloud infrastructure across Germany and the Netherlands over the next five years. The announcement is part of its broader AI push, which includes involvement in President Trump’s Project Stargate.
Like many billionaires, Ellison has faced scrutiny for his use of wealth, including his 98% ownership of the Hawaiian island Lānaʻi. In 2010, he joined the Giving Pledge, committing to donate the majority of his wealth to charity during his lifetime. “In 2010, Ellison joined the Giving Pledge, started by Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett, pledging to give a majority of his wealth to charitable causes in his lifetime.”
Despite Ellison’s rise, Elon Musk remains the world’s richest individual by a margin of more than $100 billion—even after losing $66.9 billion so far this year. “Elon Musk still holds the lead for the top spot by over $100 billion despite already taking $66.9 billion in losses this year.”
Following Ellison and Zuckerberg on the list are Amazon (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos and former Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer, all of whom have benefited from the ongoing AI boom.
The remainder of the top 10 includes Alphabet (GOOG) founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Louis Vuitton SE (LVMUY) CEO Bernard Arnault, Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang, and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) CEO Warren Buffett.
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